News Archive

News

Another update with a huge number of new games. Now many of these new titles are Speed-IF entries, so beware if you are not too keen on that series of competition - but if you do fall into that category the good news is now that the vast bulk of Speed-IF titles have been added to the site there should be far fewer added in future updates!

Our US users might be interested to know that none other than Scott Adams will appear at Tandy Assembly in Ohio on Sunday. He'll also be at Free Play Florida (in Florida, of all places) in November. So if you're in the neighbourhood, here's your chance for a bit of classic adventure game goodness. Maybe someone can ask him to get Marvel to continue the Questprobe series?Thanks to ChickenMan for the heads up!

I usually try to keep the promotion of my personal additions to the site to a minimum (apart from interviews and such). After all, this site is all about its users and their contributions should take priority.

But when I write a lengthy review of the one game that almost singlehandedly got me into the adventuring business, I get all misty-eyed and I feel that it warrants a special mention. Yes, dear readers, Eureka! is very near and dear to my heart - warts and all. The game was released with much hullabaloo back in 1984 because of a much-coveted £25,000 prize. The prize is long gone, but judged on its own merits I think the game holds up fairly well, if you can accept its (considerable) technical shortcomings.

As you may have noticed, it has been a while since the latest update. After the job change mentioned in my latest news update, I had to shuffle my schedule around a bit and CASA had to be put on the back burner for a while.But now I'm slowly (SLOWLY!) making my way through the various updates. Thanks for being patient.

This is probably the shortest update entry to date. I recently started a new job and have had to postpone all things CASA for a bit. I'll get to work on the backlog as soon as possible. Thanks for being patient!Contributors:Alex, Juan

For a lot of Kickstarter backers (including me), last week's release of Ron Gilbert's Thimbleweed Park was a long-awaited event. Obviously the game falls outside the scope of CASA, but nothing's going to keep me from giving a loving nod to Mr. Gilbert's second game, a little, classic something called Maniac Mansion. Which obviously (?) falls outside the scope of CASA, too, but I love the game and there are certain perks to being webmaster. So there!

Did you know that four of Infocom's titles were released in Japanese? Neither did I, until one of our readers pointed me in the right direction. Among other oddities I also came across a version of Zork I for the Sega Saturn and Playstation - with sound and visuals. Nothing is sacred I guess :)

As always, thanks to all you hard working people out there - so many things updated this time around.

Garry has been hard at work uploading info on Alan games, which means that our Alan selection has been substantially upgraded.

And as a heads-up for C64 enthusiasts: the ever-industrious Fredrik Ramsberg has ported a number (30-something) of Inform games to D64-format, so you can play some of the more modern titles on your favourite machine. I've tested a few of them, and it just works really well. More on his website.

There's nothing quite like spending a bit of dough on your favourite hobby (yes, that would be text adventures). Especially not when commercial releases are few and far between. Industry legend Bob Bates (the man behind a couple of my childhood favourites, Infocom's Sherlock - The Riddle of the Crown Jewels and Arthur: The Quest For Excalibur, as well as Legend's Spellcasting series and more) has created a new, full-sized game with a very interesting premise. Thaumistry: In Charm's Way sees you dealing with magic, failed start-ups and people called Bodgers. Who may or may not risk mass persecution - sounds serious but I have a hunch that it's going to be a lot of fun, anyway.The game is currently up on Kickstarter and is nearing its goal. But various stretch goals are promised, including Android and iOS ports as well as a nifty Chris Hülsbeck soundtrack, and as I love his music and Android ports, here's hoping that the funding will go far. Check out the project including the intro video - it's not every day you get the chance to see Steve Meretzky, Al Lowe and Tim Schafer in one spot.

I still have a truckload of updates to handle, so the next update should happen fairly soon.

Random Game

Plot

You're the sole crew member aboard the Advent X-5, a space ship designed to transport small animals. Your most recent mission was to take some animals to a planet called Klybex-6 to test their reactions to its thick atmosphere and low gravity, but on the way to Klybex-6, a meteor storm forced you to crash-land the Advent X-5 on Klybex-7.

You're now stranded on the ship, and must get to the emergency shuttle craft and blast off to the nearest star base...